McClatchy-Marist Poll On Trump vs. Obama

Today’s McClatchy-Marist poll on President Obama’s re-election chances includes a hypothetical head-to-head match-up against the current GOP frontrunner (at least according to a recent PPP poll), Donald Trump.

Obama has a comfortable lead over the New York-based real estate developer, 54-38 with 8 percent undecided.

The strongest GOP contender continues to be Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and 2008 presidential hopeful. He’s not statistically tied with Obama, 45-46, with nine percent undecided.

The last time McClatchy-Marist asked this question in January, Obama had a 13-point lead over Romney. At that time, a slim majority – 51 percent – said they would vote for the president while 38 percent thought they would back Romney, with 11 percent undecided.

The president has lost ground among independent voters. Currently a plurality – 45 percent – back Romney while 42 percent support Obama and 13 percent are undecided. Previously, the president held a 10 percentage point lead over Romney.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has been gaining ground against Obama, too. He’s now trailing the president 48-43. In January, it was 50-38.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has more or less stalled in the polls, (perhaps because she’s losing the attention of the right to Trump?). She’s at 56-34 against Obama, which is virtually unchanged from 56-30 in January.